That's funny Johnny, I was just looking at those this morning. I pretty much use just Vulfix boar brushes. The ones I have have the Vulfix Old Original Stamp on them. They are not as Fan shaped as those two. That's what I like, a narrow brush that doesn't get floppy. I also was given the 404 as a gift and it does work well. I think the loft on the two you are looking at may be a little higher than the 404, not sure. Anyway, the two in question are from the London series, the same as the 404. I'm tempted to try one.

Those look like pure badgers. They make the same model in boar and badger. You may want to check out Connaught shaving for good pics of the boars. In general I like Vulfix boars They have smaller knots and are less dense then the Semogues you currently use

The above ones are pure badgers. It seems that they used the photo from the pure badgers to advertise the boars...

I once had a Vulfix boar. A 2234h. The density and backbone was nothing like my Omegas or Semogues, or even the Grosvenor mixed. The brush had extremely low density and backbone. I'm used to the density and backbone of my Semogues and Omegas, so I ended up re-knotting mine.

I'm not saying that Vulfix boars are bad - a lot of people like them, including a good friend of mine. But they definitely don't fit my tastes.

(07-21-2012, 12:24 PM)oversaturn Wrote: The above ones are pure badgers. It seems that they used the photo from the pure badgers to advertise the boars...

I once had a Vulfix boar. A 2234h. The density and backbone was nothing like my Omegas or Semogues, or even the Grosvenor mixed. The brush had extremely low density and backbone. I'm used to the density and backbone of my Semogues and Omegas, so I ended up re-knotting mine.

I'm not saying that Vulfix boars are bad - a lot of people like them, including a good friend of mine. But they definitely don't fit my tastes.

Vasco really likes his Vulfix boar brushes,but I find the hair not to be as good as the Omega or Semogue boar hair.Of course,this is a personal appreciation.The handles,on the other hand,are very well done.
Another story is the 404 mixed with boar and badger.Well,maybe contains less than 15% of badger hair,but its a GREAT brush (I repeat,GREAT) for its price,beating more expensive brushes,specially pure badger brushes.The handle is also one of the best out there.

Yes, it's a matter of preference. I've had 4 Omegas. They were much denser and the hair was very soft on the ends. They worked great. My Vulfix brushes are not as dense and almost look like the hair was trimmed to shape (not sure if that is the case). Anyway, I just prefer the lower density and the narrower knot.

(07-21-2012, 12:31 PM)Teiste Wrote: Another story is the 404 mixed with boar and badger.Well,maybe contains less than 15% of badger hair,but its a GREAT brush (I repeat,GREAT) for its price,beating more expensive brushes,specially pure badger brushes.The handle is also one of the best out there.

I do have the 404 Mixed and a Piccadilly boar brush from Vulfix.
While I really enjoy and love the Piccadilly, I really can't recommend the 404. Well, my 404 must contain more than only 15% super-scratchy pure badger bristles in the knot. It is definitely the most super-scratchiest brush I ever owned! It's horrible for face-lathering, it really hurts. I don't know if there is something wrong with my model or if that is just normal.
The Piccadilly is one really fine boar brush. The Piccadilly clearly beats my Omega 31064 by far. I do find the bristle-quality from the Piccadilly better than from my Omega. The Omega's loses "broken bristles" (1-2cm in short) quite every shave some, while the Piccadilly never lost any "broken birstles".

(07-21-2012, 12:31 PM)Teiste Wrote: Another story is the 404 mixed with boar and badger.Well,maybe contains less than 15% of badger hair,but its a GREAT brush (I repeat,GREAT) for its price,beating more expensive brushes,specially pure badger brushes.The handle is also one of the best out there.

I do have the 404 Mixed and a Piccadilly boar brush from Vulfix.
While I really enjoy and love the Piccadilly, I really can't recommend the 404. Well, my 404 must contain more than only 15% super-scratchy pure badger bristles in the knot. It is definitely the most super-scratchiest brush I ever owned! It's horrible for face-lathering, it really hurts. I don't know if there is something wrong with my model or if that is just normal.
The Piccadilly is one really fine boar brush. The Piccadilly clearly beats my Omega 31064 by far. I do find the bristle-quality from the Piccadilly better than from my Omega. The Omega's loses "broken bristles" (1-2cm in short) quite every shave some, while the Piccadilly never lost any "broken birstles".

Thats a lovely pic,infabo.
My 404 is exactly the opposite : after two weeks of break in,the tips are very soft with a little bit of scratchiness,but not too much,so its suitable to use for facelathering and circular movements.
You can always re knot the 404 handle following this video :

Re knot - I already considered that.
I gave my 404, when it was new, 2 or 3 "bathes" in a water-soap solution....wow, what a brown gunk there leaked out....until the water kept clear. I was hoping that it would help to break the brush in. Performance wise I really can't complain about the 404. It produces a nice amount of lather in the "hand-bowl". Still it is too "aggressive" for my skin. It has too much backbone too for my likings. Re knot some time.

Johnny, I never tried the Strand nor the Hyde Park, but used a Vulfix 2231 boar from Connaught for quite some time. It was a very soft brush with little density. Although I enjoyed using it as it gave a nice lather, eventhough I had to reload for each pass. My experience is much like Teiste and Emmanuels, although infabos' post makes me want to try one again.